Peabody gets first look at Macarthur Coal's books

Clancy Yeates

MACARTHUR Coal has opened its doors to the US coal giant Peabody Energy, which has two weeks to conduct due diligence on the Queensland miner it plans to buy for $4.1 billion.

Macarthur yesterday granted Peabody access to its books to the suitor, which is offering to buy the company for $16 a share.

The move caps off a turbulent bidding war for Macarthur, which has also attracted a rival bid from from New Hope and interest from Xstrata.

Peabody is the first interested party that Macarthur has engaged with, but it has not yet recommended the bid.

Until earlier this week Macarthur's board was recommending shareholders approve a takeover of Gloucester Coal, but that opportunity has collapsed after Gloucester's dominant shareholder voted down the deal.